Penetration enhancers for transdermal delivery of systemic agents

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to a method for administering systemically active agents, including therapeutic agents, through the skin or mucosal membranes of humans and animals in a transdermal device or formulation comprising topically administering with said systemic agent a non-toxic, effective, penetrating amount of a membrane penetration enhancer having the structural formula ##STR1## wherein X represents sulfur or two hydrogen atoms; R&#39; is H or a lower alkyl group having 1-4 carbon atoms; m is 2-6; n is 0-18 and R is --CH 3 , ##STR2## wherein R&#34; is H or halogen.

REFERENCE TO EARLIER FILED APPLICATIONS

"This is a continuation of copending U.S. patent application(s) Ser. No. 07/556,111 filed on Jul. 20, 1990, now abandoned which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 06/916,402, entitled PENETRATION EXCHANGERS FOR TRANSDERMAL DELIVERY OF SYSTEMIC AGENTS, filed Oct. 7, 1986, now abandoned, which was a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 06/824,436, filed on Jan. 31, 1986, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1) Field of the Invention

The invention generally relates to an improved method of drug delivery. More particularly, the invention relates to an improved membrane penetration enhancer for use in the transdermal delivery of systemically active drugs to humans and animals.

2) Background of the Prior Art

For some years, pharmaceutical researchers have sought an effective means of introducing drugs into the bloodstream by applying them to unbroken skin. Among other advantages, such administration can provide a comfortable, convenient, and safe way of giving many drugs now taken orally or infused into veins or injected intramuscularly.

Using skin as the portal for drug entry offers unique potential, because transdermal delivery permits close control over drug absorption. For example, it avoids factors that can cause unpredictable absorption from the gastrointestinal tract, including: changes in acidity, motility, and food content. It also avoids initial metabolism of the drug by the liver. Thus, controlled drug entry through skin can achieve a high degree of control over blood concentrations of drug.

Close control over drug concentrations in blood can translate readily into safer and more comfortable treatment. When a drug's adverse effects occur at higher concentrations than its beneficial ones, rate control can maintain the concentrations that evoke only--or principally--the drug's desired actions. This ability to lessen undesired drug actions can greatly reduce the toxicity hazards that now restrict or prevent the use of many valuable agents.

Transdermal delivery particularly benefits patients with chronic disease. Many such patients have difficulty following regimens requiring several doses daily of medications that repeatedly cause unpleasant symptoms. They find the same drugs much more acceptable when administered in transdermal systems that require application infrequently--in some cases, only once or twice weekly--and that reduce adverse effects.

Transdermal delivery is feasible for drugs effective in amounts that can pass through the skin area and that are substantially free of localized irritating or allergic effects. While these limitations may exclude some agents, many others remain eligible for transdermal delivery. Moreover, their numbers will expand as pharmaceutical agents of greater potency are developed. Particularly suitable for transdermal delivery are potent drugs with only a narrow spread between their toxic and safe blood concentrations, those having gastrointestinal absorption problems, or those requiring frequent dosing in oral or injectable form.

Transdermal therapy permits much wider use of natural substances such as hormones. Often the survival times of these substances in the body are so short that they would have to be taken many times daily in ordinary dosage forms. Continuous transdermal delivery provides a practical way of giving them, and one that can mimic the body's own patterns of secretion.

At present, controlled transdermal therapy appears feasible for many drugs used for a wide variety of ailments including, but not limited to, circulatory problems, hormone deficiency, respiratory ailments, and pain relief.

Percutaneous administration can have the advantage of permitting continuous administration of drug to the circulation over a prolonged period of time to obtain a uniform delivery rate and blood level of drug. Commencement and termination of drug therapy are initiated by the application and removal of the dosing devices from the skin. Uncertainties of administration through the gastrointestinal tract and the inconvenience of administration by injection are eliminated. Since a high concentration of drug never enters the body, problems of pulse entry are overcome and metabolic half-life is not a factor of controlling importance.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,989,815; 3,989,816; 3,991,203; 4,122,170; 4,316,893; 4,415,563; 4,423,040; 4,424,210; 4,444,762 and 4,755,535 generally describe a method for enhancing the topical (as contrasted to the systemic) administration of physiologically active agents by combining such an agent with an effective amount of a penetration enhancer and applying the combination topically to humans or animals, in the form of creams, lotions, gels, etc.

Penetration enhancers for enhancing systemic administration of therapeutic agents transdermally are cited in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,405,616; 4,562,075; 4,031,894, 3,996,934; and 3,921,636.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It has been discovered that the penetration enhancers, previously disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 06/824,436 to enhance topical delivery of physiologically active agents, also enhance the transdermal delivery of systemically active agents through the skin or other body membranes of humans and animals directly in the bloodstream without localized irritating or allergic effects on the skin, i.e., the penetration enhancers are non-toxic.

The invention therefore provides a method for topically administering systemically active agents through the skin or mucosal membranes of humans and animals, utilizing a transdermal device or formulation, wherein the improvement in said method comprises topically administering with said systemic agent an effective amount of a non-toxic, effective, membrane penetration enhancer having the structural formula ##STR3## wherein X may represent sulfur or two hydrogen atoms; R' is H or a lower alkyl group having 1-4 carbon atoms; m is 2-6; n is 0-18 and R is --CH₃, ##STR4## wherein R" is H or halogen. The topical administration of the non-toxic, effective membrane penetration enhancer may be simultaneous with, before, or after topical administration of the therapeutic agent.

The invention also provides an improved method for administering systemically active therapeutic agents topically through the skin of humans in a transdermal device or formulation to obtain therapeutic blood levels of the therapeutic agent, wherein the improvement in said method comprises the use of non-toxic, effective skin penetration enhancing amount of the above membrane penetration enhancer with said therapeutic agent.

Preferably R is --CH₃ and R' is H.

In a more preferred embodiment of the present invention R is --CH₃, R' is H and m equals 4. Even more preferably n is 4-17, e.g., 11.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The compounds useful as non-toxic, membrane penetration enhancers in the formulations or devices of the instant invention may be made as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 06/824,436, hereby incorporated by reference. Typical examples of compounds represented by the above structural formula include:

1-n-Dodecylazacycloheptane

1-n-Dodecylazacycloheptan-2-one

1-n-Dodecylazacycloheptan-2-thione

1-n-Butylazacyclohexan-2-thione

1-n-Butylazacyclopentan-2-thione

1-n-Octylazacyclopentan-2-thione

1-n-Butylazacycloheptan-2-thione

1-n-Octylazacycloheptan-2-thione

1,1'-Hexamethylenediazacyclopentan-2-thione

1-n-Dodecylazacyclohexan-2-thione

1-n-Decylazacycloheptane

1-n-Hexadecylazacycloheptane

1-n-Octadecylazacycloheptane

1-n-Undecylazacycloheptane

1-n-Tetradecylazacycloheptane

Typical systemically active agents which may be delivered transdermally are therapeutic agents which are sufficiently potent such that they can be delivered through the skin or other membrane to the bloodstream in sufficient quantities to produce the desired therapeutic effect. In general, this includes therapeutic agents in all of the major therapeutic areas including, but not limited to, anti-infectives, such as antibiotics and antiviral agents, analgesics and analgesic combinations, anorexics, anthelmintics, antiarthritics, antiasthma agents, anticonvulsants, antidepressants, antidiabetic agents, antidiarrheals, antihistamines, anti-inflammatory agents, antimigraine preparations, antimotion sickness, antinauseants, antineoplastics, antiparkinsonism drugs, antipruritics, antipsychotics, antipyretics, antispasmodics, including gastrointestinal and urinary; anticholinergics, sympathomimetics, xanthine derivatives, cardiovascular preparations including calcium channel blockers, beta-blockers, antiarrhythmics, antihypertensives, diuretics, vasodilators including general, coronary, peripheral and cerebral; central nervous system stimulants, cough and cold preparations, decongestants, diagnostics, hormones, hypnotics, immunosuppressives, muscle relaxants, parasympatholytics, psychostimulants, sedatives and tranquilizers.

Dosage forms for application to the skin or other membranes of humans and animals include creams, lotions, gels, ointments, suppositories, sprays, aerosols, buccal and sublingual tablets and any one of a variety of transdermal devices for use in the continuous administration of systemically active drugs by absorption through the skin, oral mucosa or other membranes, see for example, one or more of U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,598,122; 3,598,123; 3,731,683; 3,742,951; 3,814,097; 3,921,636; 3,972,995; 3,993,072; 3,993,073, 3,996,934; 4,031,894; 4,060,084; 4,069,307; 4,201,211; 4,230,105; 4,292,299 and 4,292,303. U.S. Pat. No. 4,077,407 and the foregoing patents also disclose a variety of specific systemically active agents which may also be useful in transdermal delivery, which disclosures are hereby incorporated herein by this reference.

Typical inert carriers which may be included in the foregoing dosage forms include conventional formulating materials, such as, for example water, isopropyl, alcohol, gaseous fluorocarbons, ethyl alcohol, polyvinyl pyrrolidone, propylene glycol, fragrances, gel-producing materials such as "Carbopol", stearyl alcohol, stearic acid, spermaceti, sorbitan monooleate, "Polysorbates", "Tweens", sorbital, methylcellulose, etc.

Systemically active agents are used in amounts calculated to achieve and maintain therapeutic blood levels in a human or animal over the period of time desired. These amounts vary with the potency of each systemically active substance, the amount required for the desired therapeutic or other effect, the rate of elimination or breakdown of the substance by the body once it has entered the bloodstream and the amount of penetration-enhancer in the formulation. In accordance with conventional prudent formulating practices, a dosage near the lower end of the useful range of a particular agent is usually employed initially and the dosage increased or decreased as indicated from the observed response, as in the routine procedure of the physician.

The amount of penetration enhancer which may be used in the invention varies from about 1 to 100 percent although adequate enhancement of penetration is generally found to occur in the range of about 1 to 10 percent by weight of the formulation to be delivered without localized irritating or allergic effects on the skin or other body membrane. The non-toxic penetration enhancer disclosed herein may be applied in combination with the active agent or may be applied separately to the skin or other body membrane though which the systemically-active agent is intended to be delivered as long as the non-toxic penetration enhancer and systemically active agent are together on the skin or other body membrane.

The invention is further illustrated by the following examples which are illustrative of a specific mode of practicing the invention and is not intended as limiting the scope of the appended claims.

EXAMPLE 1

A composition, in the form of a gel, suitable for transdermal delivery of haloperidol, an antidyskinetic or antipsychotic drug, is prepared by mixing the following components in the given concentration:

    ______________________________________                                         Component            Weight %                                                  ______________________________________                                         Haloperidol          1-5                                                       1-n-Dodecylazacycloheptan-2-one                                                                     1-10                                                      Carbopol 934 P       0.5-2                                                     (Available from B. F. Goodrich)                                                Neutralizing Agent (NaOH)                                                                           q.s                                                       Tween-20             1-10                                                      (Available from Atlas Chemical,                                                a Div. of I.C.I.)                                                              Preservative (Sorbic Acid)                                                                          q.s.                                                      Antioxidant (Ascorbic Acid)                                                                         q.s.                                                      Chelating Agent (Disodium salt                                                                      q.s.                                                      of ethylenediaminetetra acetic                                                 acid)                                                                          Deionized Water      q.s. to 100                                               ______________________________________                                    

This composition is topically applied to the skin or mucosal membrane of a human subject and after the passage of a suitable period of time, haloperidol is found in the blood-stream of said subject, and no localized irritating or allergic effects on the skin or mucosal membrane are observed.

EXAMPLE 2

When an amine, e.g., triethylamine or triethanolamine, is substituted for NaOH, the results are substantially similar; i.e., a topical composition suitable for transdermally delivering haloperidol to the bloodstream is obtained without localized irritation or allergic effects on the skin or mucosal membrane.

EXAMPLE 3

When potassium sorbate or a lower alkyl paraben, e.g., methyl, ethyl propyl, or butyl paraben, is substituted for the preservative of the composition of Example 1, the results are substantially similar, i.e., a topical composition suitable for the transdermal delivery of haloperidol to the bloodstream is obtained without localized irritation or allergic effects on the skin or mucosal membrane.

EXAMPLE 4

When ascorbyl palmitate, Vitamin E, thioglycerol, thioglycolic acid, sodium formaldehyde sulfoxylate, BHA, BHT, propyl gallate or sodium metabisulfite are substituted for the antioxidant of the composition formulated in Example 1, the results are substantially similar in that a topical composition suitable for transdermally delivering haloperidol to the bloodstream is obtained without localized irritation or allergic effects on the skin or mucosal membrane.

EXAMPLE 5

The composition of Example 1 is prepared in the form of a sodium alginate gel by mixing the following components in the following given concentrations:

    ______________________________________                                         Component            Weight %                                                  ______________________________________                                         Haloperidol          1-5                                                       1-n-Dodecylazacycloheptan-2-one                                                                     1-10                                                      Sodium Alginate      0.5-5                                                     Calcium Salts        q.s                                                       Tween-20             1-10                                                      Preservative*        q.s.                                                      Antioxidant**        q.s.                                                      Chelating Agent***   q.s.                                                      Deionized Water      to 100                                                    ______________________________________                                          *Suitable preservatives are those used in Example 3 as well as sorbic          acid.                                                                          **Suitable antioxidants are those used in Example 4 including ascorbic         acid.                                                                          ***The chelating agent is the disodium salt of ethylenediaminetetraacetic      acid.                                                                    

This composition when applied topically is found to transdermally deliver haloperidol to the bloodstream of a subject without localized irritation or allergic effects on the skin or mucosal membrane.

EXAMPLE 6

The composition of Example 1 is prepared in the form of a hydrophilic cream by mixing the following components.

    ______________________________________                                         Component            Weight %                                                  ______________________________________                                         Oil Phase                                                                      Cetyl Alcohol        5-15                                                      Stearyl Alcohol      1-10                                                      1-n-Dodecylazacycloheptan-2-one                                                                     0.5-10                                                    Glycerol Monostearate                                                                               2-7                                                       Water Phase                                                                    Sodium Laurylsulfate 0.1                                                       Solvent*             2-20                                                      Tween-20             1-5                                                       Water                q.s. to 100                                               ______________________________________                                          *Suitable solvents are propylene glycol, glycerin, alcohols (for example,      ethyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, etc.) and polyethylene glycols.        

The oil phase and the water phase are made up separately and then agitated to form an emulsion. (When, as in Example 8, the active ingredient is other than haloperidol, depending on its lipophilicity, it will be distributed in the oil or water phase.) This hydrophilic cream, applied topically to the skin or mucosal membrane of a human, transdermally delivers haloperidol into the bloodstream without localized irritation or allergic effects on the skin or mucosal membrane.

EXAMPLE 7

The composition of the instant invention may also be delivered by use of a polymeric matrix. For example, a solid polymer such as cellulose triacetate, polyvinyl acetate, terpolymers and copolymers of polyvinyl alcohol and polyvinyl acetate, and silicon elastomers is imbibed with a liquid having the following components in the given concentrations:

    ______________________________________                                         Component            Weight %                                                  ______________________________________                                         Polymer              5-40                                                      Haloperidol          q.s.                                                      1-n-Dodecylazacycloheptan-2-one                                                                     0.5-80                                                    Solvent*             5-90                                                      Surfactant**         1-10                                                      Preservative***      q.s.                                                      Antioxidant****      q.s.                                                      ______________________________________                                          *Solvents may be the solvents used in Example 6 above.                         **The Surfactant may be Tween20, glycerol monostearate or sodium               laurylsulfate, etc.                                                            ***The preservative may be any of the preservatives used in Example 3          above.                                                                         ****The antioxidants may be any of those used in Example 4 above.        

When solid matrix, containing the active ingredients formulated above, is contacted with the skin or mucosal membrane of a human subject, after a period of time the active agent is found in the bloodstream of said subject without localized irritation or alergic effects on the skin or mucosal membrane.

EXAMPLE 8

Examples 1 to 7 are repeated except that the following active ingredients in the given concentrations are substituted for haloperidol:

    ______________________________________                                         Active Ingredient                                                                               Weight %                                                      ______________________________________                                         Isosorbide Dinitrate                                                                             5-15                                                         Nitroglycerin    1-5                                                           Estradiol        1-5                                                           Clonidine        0.5-3                                                         Propranolol      1-5                                                           Indomethacine     5-15                                                         Nifedipine       1-5                                                           Nicardipine      1-5                                                           Diclorofenac      5-15                                                         Metaproterenol   1-5                                                           ______________________________________                                    

EXAMPLE 9

Examples 1 to 8 are repeated except that the compounds exemplified on pages 5-6 (except for 1-n-Dodecylazacycloheptan-2-one) are substituted for 1-n-Dodecylazacycloheptan-2-one. Similar results are obtained in that the active ingredients are transdermally delivered to the bloodstream of an animal without localized irritation or allergic effects on the skin or mucosal membrane.

While particular embodiments of the invention have been described, it will be understood of course that the invention is not limited thereto since many obvious modifications can be made; and it is intended to include without this invention any such modifications as will fall within the scope of the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for topically administering a systemically active agent through the skin or mucosal membranes of humans and animals, which method comprises topically administering to the skin or mucosal membranes of humans and animals and delivering into the blood stream an effective amount of a systemically active agent which is an antipsychotic or antidyskinetic agent; and a non-toxic, effective penetrating amount of a membrane penetration enhancer having the structural formula: ##STR5## where X represents sulfur or two hydrogen atoms; R' is hydrogen or a lower alkyl group having 1-4 carbon atoms; m is 2-6; n is 0-18 and R is --CH₃, ##STR6## where R" is hydrogen or halogen.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein R' is hydrogen, m is 4, n is 4-17 and R is --CH₃.
 3. The method of claim 2 wherein X is sulfur.
 4. The method of claim 2 wherein X represents two hydrogen atoms.
 5. The method of claim 3 wherein n is
 11. 6. The method of claim 4 wherein n is
 11. 7. The method of claim 6 wherein the administration of the systemically active agent and the non-toxic penetration enhancer is concurrent.
 8. The method of claim 1 wherein the membrane penetration enhancer is selected from the group consisting of 1-n-Dodecylazacycloheptane and 1-n-Dodecylazacycloheptan-2-thione.
 9. The method of claim 1 wherein the systemically active agent is selected from the group consisting of haloperidol, isosorbide dinitrate, nitroglycerin, estradiol, clonidine, propranolol, indomethacine, nifedipine, nicardipine, dichlorofenac and metaproterenol.
 10. The method of claim 8 wherein the systemically active agent is selected from the group consisting of haloperidol, isosorbide dinitrate, nitroglycerin, estradiol, clonidine, propranolol, indomethacine, nifedipine, nicardipine, dichlorofenac and metaproterenol.
 11. The method of claim 8 wherein the systemically active agent is haloperidol and the membrane penetration enhancer is 1-n-dodecyl-azacycloheptan-2-thione. 